Aborted GameStore app 'premature,' Apple issues refunds
updated 09:00 pm EST, Wed January 4, 2012
Was available for almost three days
An Apple-authored but unfinished iOS app that offered users the ability to buy add-ons and items for a variety of games called GameStore briefly appeared on the App Store on December 31st but was removed three days later. Now the company is issuing refunds to people who purchased the $1 app during the brief period it was available, saying the app "was made available for sale prematurely." Earlier reports had suggested the app was for internal testing only.
The GameStore app appeared to be a "quick and dirty" demonstration of the in-app purchasing model, with a description that said it would allow users to "buy different things." Details on the app reveal that it originates from 2009 (the same year the in-app purchase concept was introduced) and it was likely used as an internal "testing" application to check Apple's in-app purchase servers.
The app featured "products" users could buy such as "2 lives" for $3 or a "Force Field" for $6. The catalog listings were not tied to any specific game, and buying the products was not functional. Apple says it will refund the purchase price back to the buyers' original payment method within five business days.
